Well packer



Aug. 9, 1960 G. M. RAULINS El l- 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 WELL PACKER Filed Jan. 25, 1957 E /as- F ig.l

am mum" Fig.3 INVENTORS George Mox Roulins James H. Bostock Turner '6. Garwood ATTORNEY Aug. 9, 1960 G. M. RAULINS E 2,948,338

WELL PACKER Filed Jan. 25, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Q A A INVENTORS George Max Roul'ms James H. Bosfock Turner 6. Gflr 0 Fig 4 flaw/ y ATTORNEY United States Patent Pr WELL PACKER George Max Raulins, James H. Bostock and Turner G. Garwood, Dallas, Tex., assignors to Otis Engineering Corporation, Dallas, Tex., a corporation of Texas Filed Jan. 25, 1957, Ser. No. 636,320

9 Claims. (Cl. 166-123) This invention relates to well tools and more particularly to well packers.

One object of the invention is to provide a new and improved packer for sealing between well tubing and the like and the well casing.

Another object of the invention is to provide a packer which may be lowered into place in the well and removed therefrom by means of a flexible line.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved packer having resiliently supported stop and locking elements formed with selector bosses for arresting downward movement of the packer at a selected location in a well casing.

A further object of the invention is to provide a packer, of the type described, wherein releasable locking means is provided for locking the stop and locking ele ment selector bosses in locking and supporting position.

An important object of the invention is to provide a new and improved packer, of the character described, having resiliently supported stop and locking members biased toward locking position and adapted when in locking position to have a directly connected abutting shoulder supporting engagement with the body of the packer.

A particular object of the invention is to provide a packer having resiliently supported stop and locking members having shoulders adapted to engage complementary co-acting shoulders in a well conductor to stop and support the packer in said conductor, said stop and locking members having shoulders disposed to engage co-acting shoulders on the packer whereby the packer is supported by shoulder to shoulder connection with the conductor; and a locking and sealing section which may be connected to a flow tube is adapted to be inserted in said packer to hold the stop and locking members in projecting locking position and has a shoulder adapted to engage a cooperating shoulder on the packer whereby said flow tube is supported byshoulder to shoulder connections on said conductor, saidlocking and sealing section and packer also having sealing means preventing fluid flow therebetween through the well conductor.

Another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved packer, of the type described, wherein the stop and locking members are supported on the free ends of resilient fingers of a collet member so as to be resiliently movable between projecting locking position and retracted position and are biased by said fingers toward projecting position, and wherein the weight supported by the packer is transmitted to the stop and locking members by means other than the resilient collet fingers.

A further object of the invention is to provide a new and improved packer, of the type described, wherein no rotational or reciprocating movement is necessary to install the packer in the well casing, and which is so constructed that the .tubing string may be readily removed by a simple straight upward pull thereon, and the packer may itself also be removed by a simple straight upward pull.-

. Patented Aug. 9,

Other objects of the invention are to provide a pack;

which is simple and economical in construction and use.

Additional objects and advantages of the invention will.

be readily apparent from the reading of the following description of a device constructed in accordance with the invention, and reference to the accompanying drawings thereof, wherein:

Figures 1 and 2 are views, partly in elevation and partly in section, of a packer showing the same being lowered through a well casing, Figure 2 being a continuation ofthe lower part of Figure l; I Figure 3 is a view similar to Figures 1 and 2,. showing the packer locked in position in the well casing and sup-. porting a locking and sealing nipple;

Figure 4 is a view, partly in section and partly in ele-, vation, of a slightly modified form of packer, showing the same being lowered through a well casing.

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 4, showing the. packer locked in position in the well casing; Figure 6 is an enlarged fragmentary view showing the shoulder to shoulder connection between the stop and locking members and the body of the packer of Figure 4; and,

Figure 7 is a horizontal cross-sectional view taken on the line 7-7 of Figure 5.

Referring now particularly to Figures 1 through 3 of the drawings, the letter P designates generally a well packer which has an elongate tubular body 20 formed of a central tubular packing mandrel section 21 having an upper tubular fishing and supporting section 22 threaded on its upper end and a tubular retaining and supporting bushing 27 threaded into its, lower end. A packing or sealing assembly 23, having sealing members which may be of the chevron or V type,.is disposed for sealing on the central packing mandrel section 21, being held in place thereon between an upwardly facing external annular shoulder 24 on said packing mandrel section and the lower end of the upper tubular supporting section 22. The packing assembly, as shown, in cludes two sets of chevron or V rings25 and 26 which face in opposite directions wherebythe flow of fluids in either direction past the outer surface of the packer body is prevented when the packing seals with the bore wall- 36b of a landing nipple 36, as will be explained.

The retaining and supporting bushing 27 has a shoulder 27a. which engages the lower end of the central packing mandrel to limit entry of the bushing into the enlarged bore of the lower portion of the packing mandrel whereby the upper end of the bushing and the shoulder 28 at the upper end of the enlarged bore define. an internal annular recess 29 in the body of the packer. An external annular flange 30 at the upper end of a collet member 31 is loosely confined in the recess 29, whereby the collet member is supported by the body and may undergo limited longitudinal movement relative to said body. Upward movement of the collet member rel ative to the mandrel is ultimately limited by engagement of the upper end of thecollet member with the downwardly facing annular shoulder 28 at the upper end of the enlarged bore in said packer body; however, as will be explained, the upward movement of the collet mem-.

berrelative to the mandrel is further initially limited. by other means.

The collet member 31 has a plurality of resilient or spring fingers 33 which extend downwardly through the bushing 27 and have stop or supporting and locking members 34 secured to their lower ends, as by welding at 331: (Figure 2). Each of the supporting and lockingmembers is formed with laterally projecting bosses 34a and 34b which are of an outer configuration to correspond with the inner configuration of an internal annular selector groove or recess 35 in the bore wall 36b of only one of several landing nipples 36 which may be connected at various depths in the well casing 36a and which have selector grooves of different configuration or size or both. When it is desired to install a packer P at a selected depth in the casing, a collet member having supporting and locking members 34 provided with bosses of a'configuration to conform with the configuration of the selector groove 35 of the landing nipple 36 is installed on said packer.

The boss 34b of each stop and locking member is formed at its lower end witli'a downwardly facing stop shoulder 37 disposed substantially perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis of the packer, and this stop shoulder is adapted to engage a complementary upwardly facing internal annularshjoulder 38 inthe'selector groove 35 of a selected'landing nipple to support the packer when said packer is lowered into'said nipple. The upper shoulders 39 of the bosses are beveled outwardly and downwardly and are adapted to engage the inwardly and upwardly beveled annular shoulder 40 at the upper end of "the groove 35 for purposes to be hereinafter more u y exp ined.

' The lower guide boss 34a is, spaced below the shoul- 37 at the lower end of the upper boss 34b and has beveled upwardly and downwardly facing shoulders 42 and 43, respectively, for entry into a correspondingly shaped lower portion 44 of the groove 35. The lower guide boss 34a projects laterally a distance at least as great as the upper key boss 34b, and the beveled shoulders 42 and 43'of said guide bosses cam the stop and locking members 34 inwardly upon encountering upwardly facing Obstructions, or other grooves or recesses which do not correspond with the configuration of the stop looking members 34 to prevent the undesired engagement of the shoulders 37 with said obstructions or non C rrespQnding grooves.

Shearable screws 50 are threaded through the central packing mandrel section 21 of the packer body and into holes 51 in lugs 52 welded or otherwise provided on a tubular member 53 forming a running tool or lowering sub for releasably securing the packer P to said lowering sub. The lowering sub is threaded at its lower end to a l'ower section 55 of a tubing string 56 which is used to lower thepack'er into the well. p A tubular locking and sealing assembly 57 is connected by means ofa coupling 62 to the upper end of the lowering sub 54. The locking and sealing nipple assembly includes an upper locator and supporting sub 58, a tubular sealing nipple 60 threaded to the lower end of said locator sub and a tubular locking member or sleeve 61 threaded to the lower end of the. sealing nipple. While the locking sleeve 61 is shown as being connected by means of the coupling 62 to the upper end of the running tool or lowering sub 54, manifestly, additional sections of the tubing or flow string 56 may be threadedly interposed between the locking sleeve and the lowering sub if desired.

The entire assembly of the tubular locking and sealing assembly and therunm'ng tool or sub may be connected in and form a part of the usual well flow conductor or tubing string 56 by means of which the packer may be lowered into and positioned, in the, landing nipple in the wel g A packing assembly 63, is mounted on a reduced section of thersealing nipple 60, and consists of upwardly and downwardly facing chevron or V type, sealing rings 64 and 65, respectively, for sealing with the bore wall 66 of the central packing tubular mandrel section 21 of the packer body 20 to prevent flow of fluids from either direction therepast through the packer body. The packingjasser nbly 63 is confined on the sealing nipple between a; downwardly facing external annular shoulder 67 on said (f. nipple and the upper end of the locking sleeve 61 threaded to said sealing nipple.

The outside diameter of the tubular locking sleeve 61 is only slightly less than the bore 66 of the packer body, so that when said locking sleeve is moved downwardly into the collet member 31 at the lower end of the packer body 26, the outer surface of said locking sleeve abuts the inner surfaces 68 of the spring fingers 33 and holds said fingers against inward movement, thus holding the lock ing members 34 in the projecting locking and supporting position, as will be more fully explained hereinafter.

The locator sub 58 is formed with an external anular flange 59 providing a downwardly facing shoulder 69 which is engageable with an internal annular upwardly facing shoulder 79 formed by enlargement of the upper portion of the bore of the tubular fishing and supporting section 22 of the packer body to limit downward move ment of the sealing, and locking assembly through the packer body. Such engagement also obviously limits downward movement of the tubing string 56 in which the sealing and locking assembly is connected, whereby the tubing string is supported by the packer.

In operation the packer body 20 is secured to the lowering sub '54- by means of the shearable screws 59. The sealing and locking assembly 57 is threadedly connected to the lowering sub as previously indicated, and the entire assembly is lowered into the casing 36a of the well. The bosses 34a and 34b of the locking members 34 engage the walls of the casing and are moved inwardly against the force of the resilient arms 33, since the bosses project to a greater diameter than the bore of the casing, and the beveled downwardly facing shoulders 43 on the guide lugs 34a cam said locking members inwardly on meeting obstructions. The diameter of the tubular member 53of the lowering sub 54 is sufiiciently small to permit adequate inward flexing of the resilient spring fingers of the collet member, so that the bosses of the locking members may pass freely down the casing.

When the proper landing nipple 36 is reached, the bosses 34a and 34b move outwardly into the selector groove 35 because of the biasing of the spring fingers 33, and the downwardly facing stop shoulders 37 of the locking-rand supporting members 34 engage the upwardly facing annular shoulder 38 in the selector groove of the nipple to limit downward movement of said, locking and supporting members. The lower endof the retaining and supporting bushing 27 then engages the upper ends of the locking and supporting members 34, in the manner shown in Figure 3, to stop further downward movement of the packer body 20. The bushing 27 is of a length such that said bushing engages the upper ends of the locking members before the flanges 30 of the collet member engages the downwardly facing shoulder 28 in the packer body. The upward movement of the collet member relative to the packer body is thus limited, whereby the downward force or weight exerted by the packer is supported by the locking members 34 through the bushing 27, rather than through the resilient fingers 33 of the collet member.

The packing assembly23 seals with the bore 36b of the landing nipple as previously indicated, thereby preventing the flow of fluids past the outer surface of the packer through said landing nipples.

The tubing string is lowered further, shearing the screws 5i) and allowing the lowering sub, to move down wardly through the packer until the sealing and locking assembly 57 enters the bore of the packer body and the shoulder 69 of the locator sub engages the upwardly facing shoulder 70 in the fishing and supporting section at the upper end of the packer body. The assembly now appears as shown in Figure 3, the locking sleeve 61 holding the locking members 34 in projecting locking and supporting position in the recess 35 of the landing nipple. The weight of the tubing string 56 assures that the lock The packing 63 of the sealing nipple seals with the bore wall 66 of the packer body to prevent the flowof fluids therethrough past the outer surface of the seal nipple, thereby assuring that any flow of fluids upwardly within the casing from below the packer must be directed into and through the tubing string 56.

The distance between the shoulder 69 of the locator sub and the packing assembly 63 and the locking sleeve 61 are so selected that these various elements assume the proper position in the packer body when said locator sub shoulder is engaged with the shoulder in the bore of the fishing and supporting section atthe upper end of the packer body. The packer may be removed by first lifting the locking and sealing assembly 57 from the bore of the packer and from the casing string, thereby withdrawing the locking sleeve 61 from between the locking and supporting members 34'and freeing the resilient fingers 33 and the locking .and supporting members carried thereby for inward movement. A suitable pulling tool or spear (not shown) is lowered into the casing and into the packer body until it engages under aninternal downwardly facing annular shoulder 71 in the upper end of the bore of the fishing and supporting section of the packer body for lifting the packer from its position in the landing nipple. Upon an upward pull, applied to said fishing and supporting section, the beveled upper shoulders 39 and 42 of the bosses 34a and 34b of the locking member 34, co-act with the beveled shoulders 40 and 45 of the grooves 35 and 44 to cam the locking members inwardly against the resiliency of the spring collet fingers 33 to permit removal of the bosses from the grooves. Upon a continued upward 'pull applied to the packer body, the bosses of the supporting and locking members 34 will ride upwardly along the casing wall, springing inwardly to pass obstructions, until the packer is completely removed from the casing.

An internal annular groove or recess 72 may be formed in the bore wall of the fishing and supporting section 22 to provide a means for latching or locking a hold-down or other well tool (not shown) in the packer.

The running tool or lowering sub 54 has been shown and described as being connected to the tubing string to lower the packer into the well casing. Obviously, the running tool or lowering sub could be lowered from the surface by means of a conventional string of flexible line. Stroke jars capable of delivering upward and downward jarring blows to an attached device are normally incorporated in the string of tools and are used to deliver such blows to shear the screws 50 attaching the packer to the lowering sub. Upon installing the packer 20 in the well in this manner the lowering sub would be removed from the well, and the tubing string having the locking and sealing assembly 57 connected therein would be lowered into the well to position such locking and sealing assembly in the packer, as shown in Figure 3.

It will therefore be seen that a new and improved packer has been illustrated and described which may be lowered into a well casing by means of a lowering sub 54 operated by means of a string of tubing or by means of a flexible line, and that the packer may be removably locked in position in a well by means of the locking members 34 after its downward movement has been stopped by the abutting of the stop shoulders 37 of the upper bosses 34b of said locking members of the packer with the internal annular shoulder 38 in the selector groove of the landing nipple in the well casing. It will also be seen that the locking members 34 are resiliently biased toward projecting locking position in the recess 35 by the resilient fingers 33, and that said locking members are held in said projecting locking position by the locking sleeve 61 of the locking and sealing assembly 57 of the packer body in position to abut the inner surfaces .of said resilient fingers and prevent inward movement of-the locking members, whereby the packet is positively locked in place in the landing nipple. Furthermore, the packer may be set in and removed from the well without necessity for'rotational or reciprocating movement of the setting too'l or'the packer but simply by longitudinal movement in one direction.

' It will particularly be noted that the locking members are so supported by the collet member 31 that said locking members are movable longitudinally relative to the packer body 20 through a limited distance, so that the bushing 27 forming the lower portion of the packer body has an abutting shoulder or face to face engagement with the upper ends of the locking and supporting members, and the downward force or load or weight of the tubing stringis applied through the bushing 27 to the locking members rather than through the resilient fingers 33 of the collet member.

It is seen that the exterior configuration of the upper selector boss 34b of the locking members may be varied to conform to a particular recess 35 of a plurality of difierent recesses in a number of landing nipples connected in the well-casing, whereby the bosses will enter and engage only such particular correspondingly shaped recess to limit downward movement and position the packer in that particular landing nipple in the casing. In Figures 4 through 7 a slightly modified form of packer P is shown, wherein the packer body includes a central tubular packing mandrel section 81 which hasintegral depending resilient or spring collet fingers 82. Supporting and locking members 83 are formed integral with the lower ends of the spring fingers and each locking member has an outwardly extending upper selector boss 83b and a lower guide boss 83a formed there- 'on' similar to the bosses 34a and 34b previously described. -The upper shoulders 84 of the selector bosses 83b are downwardly and outwardly beveled, and a downwardly facing stop shoulder 85 is formed at the lower end of each selector boss for engaging the stop shoulder 38 in the selector groove 35 of a selected landing. nipple 36, in the manner already described. The guide bosses'83a have beveled upper and lower shoulders 87 'and 88, respectively, which function to guide the stop shoulders of the selector bosses 83b away from undesired engagement with the stop shoulders of nonselected landing nipples and other obstructions in the bore in the casing; 1

Y Manifestly, the selector bosses 83b and the guide bosses 83a are only able to enter the selector recess 35 and the guide recess '44 of a particular landing nipple 36 in which such grooves are correspondingly complementary to the bosses of the locking members 83 of the particular packer being run into the well. Further, the configuration of the bosses may be varied so that said bosses will enter the recesses 35 and 44 of only one of a number of different landing nipples, as has already been explained.

A sleeve or collar 89, formed of two halves welded together, surrounds the fingers '82 and is confined between a downwardly facing external annular shoulder 90 on the'central tubular packing mandrel section 81 and the upper ends 91 of the locking members 83. The distance between the downwardly facing shoulder 90 and the upper ends 91 of the locking members is slightly greater than the length of the sleeve 89, so that the locking members 83 may move freely inwardly and outwardly through flexing of the resilient fingers 82 without binding the sleeve between the shoulder and the upper ends of the locking members. i r

A packing assembly 92 is mounted on the reduced upper portion of thepacking mandrel section 81 of the packer body andconsists of upwardly and downwardly facing chevron or V type sealing rings '93 and 94, respectively. The downwardly facing rings 94 are retained between the upwardly facing external annular shoulder 95 at the lower end of the reduced portion of the pack ing mandrel section 81 and. a split resilient ring 96 engaged in, an external annular groove 97 in the periphery of the packing mandrel section while the upwardly facing rings '93 are confined between said split ring and an upper tubular fishing and supporting section 90 threaded to the upper end of said packing mandrel section 81. The packing assembly as described seals between the packing mandrel section of the packer body and the bore 36b of the landing nipple. to prevent flow of fluids in either direction. past said packing assembly through said landing nipple.

Shearable screws 50 are threaded through the. packingmandrel section 31 to releasably attach the. packer body 80 to the running tool or lowering sub 54 in the same: manner as previously described. As has. already been: indicated, the lowering sub or running tool. may be threaded to a tubing string for lowering into. the well, or the running tool may be lowered by means of a flexible line or flexible cable. Alternatively the packer may be. lowered into the casing by means ofa suitable releasable running tool (not shown) which engages an internal annular downwardly facing shoulder 71 near the upper end of said packer, in which case the screws 50 obviously may be omitted.

A locking and sealing assembly 100. includes a locator sub 101 attached to the upper end of a sealing mandrel or nipple 103 which has a locking sleeve lld connected' to its lower end, and this locking and sealing assembly is connected at its upper end to the tubing string 56 and at its lower end with the running tool or lowering sub 54 by means of a coupling 62 in the manner already described. The sealing nipple. has a packing assembly 102 mounted thereon consisting of upwardly facing chevron or V type sealing rings 104 retained between a downwardly facing external annular shoulder 105 on said sealing nipple and a resilient split ring 106 positioned in an external annular groove 107 in said sealing nipple, and downwardly facing chevron or V type sealing rings 109 retained between said split ring 106 and a lower split ring 110 retained in a lower external annular groove 111 by a keeper ring 112. This packing assembly 102 seals with the bore Wall 113 of the central packing mandrel section to prevent flow of fluid in either direction between said. sealing mandrel section and said packer body.

The locking sleeve 114 is of an outside diameter only slightly less than the bore 113 of the packer body and when disposed between the inner surfaces 115 of the spring fingers 32 and between the locking member 83, as in Figure 5, holds said locking members in projecting locking position.

A downwardly facing stop shoulder 116 at the lower end of an external annular flange on the locator sub'10'1 engages an upwardly facing internal annular shoulder 117 near the upper end of the bore of the upper tubular fishing and supporting section 99- of the packer body to limit downward movement of the locking and sealing assembly through the packer.

Operation of this form of the packer is substantially the same as that of the form previously described. That is, the packer P is attached by means of the shearable screws 50 to the lowering sub and lowered into the casing by flexible line methods and apparatus or by attaching said lowering sub to the tubing string 56. As the packer is lowered through the casing the locking members 83 are moved inwardly against the outward urging of the resilient fingers 82, the guide lugs 83a preventing undesired engagement of the stop shoulders 85 of the upper selector bosses 83b with obstructions or non-selected recesses in the casing. As the selected landing nipple 36 is reached, the locking members 83 are biased outwardly into the recess 35, the stop shoulders 85 engaging the stop shoulders 38 of said recess to arrest, downward movement of the packet.

The lowering sub is disconnected from the packer by exertion of downward force on said lowering sub, and the tubing is further lowered'until the sealing nipple 103 and the locking sleeve. 114 of the. lockingv and sealing assembly 100' are positioned in the bore of the packer body, the locator sub 101 engaging, the shoulder 117 in the. fishing and supporting section 99. to prevent further downward movement of the tubing (Figure. 5).

As previously indicated, the lowering sub may be lowered into the well: and the packer installed by flexible line methods and operations (not shown), or the packer may be lowered. into the well by means of a flexible line. and a suitable. releasable running tool (not. shown). which engages a shoulder 71 in the bore. of the fishing and supporting section of the packer body. In. either event, the flexible line and the lowering sub. or running tool are removed from the well when the packer has been landed and installedin thelanding nipple, and the tubing string 56 with the locator sub, sealing, nipple and locking sleeve. thereon are lowered into the well, the sealing nipple and locking sleeve entering the packer body and sealing therewith and locking said packer in the landing nipple in the. manner already described.

The weight of the entire tubing string or any part thereof may repose on the packer, and this load is initially transferred through the fingers 82 and the locking members 83 to the stop shoulder 38 in the recess. 35 of the landing nipple. Thiscolumn load imposed on the fingers causes the fingers to be deformed or bent inwardly between their ends in an arcuate manner thereby decreasing the lengths of the fingers, and allows the downwardly facing annular shoulder of the packing mandrel section 81 to engage the upper end of the sleeve 89 to stop further fiexure of the fingers 82 The weight supported by the packer is thus'transferred through the sleeve 89 to the locking members 83, and the fingers 82 no longer support said weight. Inasmuch as the. initial distance between the downwardly facing shoulder 90 and the upper ends 91 of the locking members is only slightly greater than the length of thesleeve, only a slight amount of column fiexure occurs before the load is transferred through the sleeve as described. Thus the locking sleeve 114. does not interfere with the flexure of the fingers, there being sufiicient clearance between the outer surface of said locking member and the inner surfaces of the fingers 82,. The packer P is removed from the well in the same manner as the packer P. That is, the tubing string and the locking and sealing assembly are first removed upwardly from the well, thereby freeing the locking members 83 and fingers 82 for inward movement. A suitable pulling tool (not shown) is lowered into the packer body for engagement with and latching to the internal downwardlyfacing shoulder 71 in the fishing and supporting section of the packer body. An upward pull on the pulling tool lifts. the packer from its. position in. the landing nipple, the beveled upper shoulders 84 and 87 of the bosses camming the locking members 83 inwardly against the outward biasing of the fingers 32. The packer can thus be lifted from the well', the bosses moving the locking members inwardly as obstructions or recesses in the casing are passed.

it is apparent that the modified form of packer may be installed in and removed from a selected landing nipple-in a casing string in'the. same manner as-the first described form and may likewise. be locked inposition in the landing nipple. against movement in either direction by means of a sealing and locking assembly attached to thev tubingstring nipple.

It will be-seen that a sleeve 89surrounding the resilient fingers 82 near thelower end of the packer body allows only limited column-flexure of said fingersuponapplicm tion of. a downwardload to the packer, whereupon. said downward load is. transferred. from. the fingers: through said sleeve to-the locking, members; 83 engaged withthe shoulder. in the 11ecess' '35: ofthe landing nipple; Thus 9. the relatively flexible fingers are not required to support the downward load, normally at least a part of the weight of the tubing string, imposed on the packer.

The foregoing description of the invention is explanatory only, and changes in the details of the constructions illustrated may be made by those skilled in the art, within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of the invention. V i

What is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is: a

1. A well tool comprising: an elongate tubular member; locking means resiliently supported on said tubular member and having outwardly projecting boss means disposed below the lower end of said tubular member and adapted to move laterally between retracted and projecting position to extend outwardly of said tubular member; a sleeve insertable into the upper end of and movable longitudinally into said tubular member to a position to engage and hold said locking means with the boss means in projecting position; cooperating sealing means on said tubular member and said sleeve for sealing therebetween; and means on said tubular member and said sleeve engageable with each other for limiting movement of said sleeve longitudinally into said tubular member, whereby said sleeve is positioned in said tubular member to engage and hold said locking means in projecting position and said sealing means is positioned to seal between said sleeve and said tubular member.

2. A well packer for receiving an inner sleeve and adapted to be moved into and out of a landing nipple of a well casing provided with a locking groove having a downwardly facing lock shoulder and an upwardly facing stop shoulder, said packer including: an elongate tubular body member; a support means on said tubular member having dependent resilient means extending below the lower end of said tubular body member; lock and supporting means on the lower end of said resilient means and resiliently biased laterally thereby from a retracted position to a projecting expanded position wherein said lock and supporting means projects into said locking groove to engage said downwardly facing lock shoulder to prevent upward movement of said tubular body member from said landing nipple; a downwardly facing stop shoulder on said lock and supporting means engageable with said upwardly facing stop shoulder to prevent downward movement of said tubular body member in said landing nipple when said lock and supporting means is moved into said expanded position in said locking groove, the lower end of said tubular body member engaging said lock and supporting means whereby said body isrigidly supported thereby; an inner sleeve having means for connecting it to a well tubing and slidable into said tubular body member when said-lock and supporting means is in said expanded position to a position to be abutted by saidlo-ck and supporting means on movement of said lock and supportingmeans toward retracted position whereby said lock and supportingmeans is prevented from movement to retracted position; external .sealing means on said tubular body member adapted to engage said landing nipple for sealing therebetween; and cooperating sealing means on said inner sleeve and said tubular member sealing therebetween.

I .3., A Well packer for'receivin'g' an inner sleeve and adapted to be moved intoand out of a landing'nipple of a well casing provided with a locking groove having a downwardly facing lock shoulder and an upwardly facing stop shoulder, said packer including: an elongate tubular body member; a support means on said tubular member having dependent resilient means extending below the lower end of said tubular body member; lock and supporting means on the lower end of said resilient means and resiliently biased laterally thereby from a retracted position to a projecting expanded position wherein said lock and supporting means projects into said locking groove to engage said downwardly facing lock shoulder to prevent upward movement of said tubular body mem-' her from said landing nipple; adownwardly facing stop shoulder on said lock'and supporting means engageable with said upwardly facing stop shoulder to prevent downward movement of said tubular body member in said landing nipple when said lock and supporting means is moved into said expanded position in said locking groove, the lower end of said tubular body member engaging said lock and supporting means whereby said body is rigidly supported thereby; an inner sleeve having means for connecting it to a well tubing and slidable into said tubular body member when said lock and supporting means is in said expanded position to a position to be abutted by said lock and supporting means on movement of said lock and supporting means toward retracted position whereby said lock and supporting means is prevented from movement to retracted position; external sealing means on said tubular body member adapted to engage said landing nipple for sealing therebetween; cooperating sealing means on said inner sleeve and said tubular member sealing therebetween; an upwardly facing stop shoulder on said tubular body member; and means providing a downwardly facing stop shoulder on said inner sleeve engageable with said upwardly facing stop shoulder on said tubular body memberlirniting downward movement of said sleeve in said tubular body member, whereby said cooperating sealing means on said sleeve and body member are positioned to seal therebetween and said sleeve is positioned to engage and hold said lock and supporting means in expanded projecting position.

4. A well tool insertable within a well conductor and including: an elongate tubular body; support means connected with said tubular body and having a plurality of dependent resilient members extending below the lower end of said tubular body; locking and supporting means mounted on the lower end of each of said dependent resilient members spaced slightly below the lower end of said tubular body so as to be resiliently supported on said resilient members and movable laterally between projecting locking position and retracted position; the connection of said locking and supporting means with said body providing a lost motion interconnection between said locking and supporting means and said body permitting relative longitudinal movement between said body and said locking and supporting means; means pro viding a downwardly facing shoulder on said body engageable with the upper ends of said locking and supporting means upon movement of said body longitudinally relative to said locking and supporting means; a tubular locking and sealing member insertable in said body and having a locking section disposed to be engaged by said locking and supporting means when said member is positioned in'said body to positively hold said locking and supporting means in projecting locking position; said tubular locking and sealing member also having a downwardly facing shoulder thereon engageable with said tubular body to limit downward movement of said locking and sealing member relative to said body to dispose said locking section in position to be engaged by said locking and supporting means to prevent retracting movement of said locking and supporting means; sealing means on said locking and sealing member engageable with said tubular body to prevent fluid flow through said body between said body and said member; and packing means on the exterior of said tubular body engageable with the bore wall of a well conductor to prevent fluid flow between said body and said conductor.

5. A Well packer insertable in a well conductor and including: an elongate tubular body; resilient members carried by said tubular body and projecting downwardly therefrom to a position below the lower end of said body; locking and supporting members on the lower ends of said resilient members resiliently biased outwardly thereby to a projecting locking position; the connection between said body, said resilient members and said locking and supporting members providing a lost motion connection between said body and said locking and supporting members permitting relative longitudinal movement therebetween; means at the lower end of said tubular body providing a downwardly facing shoulder engageable with the upper ends of said locking and supporting means upon longitudinal movement of said body relative to said locking and supporting means; and a tubular locking nipple insertable into the body and movable downwardly therein to a position wherein said nipple is disposed to be en gaged by said locking and supporting means to prevent movement of said locking and supporting means to retracted position out of projecting locking position.

6. A well packer including: an elongate tubular body; a plurality of resilient depending fingers on said body and projecting therebelow to a position below the lower end of said body; a locking and supporting member on the lower end of each of said fingers and disposed be low the lower end of said body, said locking and supporting members each having an outwardly projecting boss thereon adapted to engage a well casing to limit movement of said body in said casing; an upwardly facing stop shoulder on said tubular body; and a locking and sealing assembly including a stop member and a locking nipple insertable into and movable longitudinally downwardly in said tubular body, said stop member engaging said stop shoulder on said body to limit downward movement of said assembly in said body and to dispose said locking nipple in a position to be engaged by said locking members to prevent inward retracting movement of said locking members.

7. A well packer including: an elongate tubular body; a plurality of resilient depending fingers on said body and projecting therebelow to a position below the lower end of said body; a locking and supporting member on the lower end of each of said fingers and disposed below the lower end of said body, said locking and supporting members each having an outwardly projecting boss thereon adapted to engage a well casing to limit movement of said body in said casing; an upwardly facing stop shoulder on said tubular body; a locking and sealing assembly including a stop'member and a locking nipple insertable into and movable longitudinally downwardly in said tubular body, said stop member engaging said stop shoulder on said body to limit downward movement of said assembly in said body and to dispose said locking nipple in a position to be engaged by said locking members to prevent inward retracting movement of said looking members; and means at the lower end of said tubular body providing a downwardly facing shoulder engageable with an upwardly facing shoulder provided by the upper ends of said locking members to provide a rigid shoulder to shoulder support between said body and said locking and supporting members.

8. A well packer insertable in a well conductor and including: an elongate tubular body; a plurality of resilient depending fingers on said body and projecting therebelow to a position below the lower end of said body; a locking and supporting member on the lower end of each of said fingers and disposed below the lower end :of said body, said locking and supporting members being biased to projecting supporting position by said resilient fingers and each having an outwardly projecting boss thereon adapted to supportingly engage a well conductor casing to limit movement of said body in said well conductor; said resilient fingers providing a lost motion connection between said members and said body permitting relative longitudinal movement between said body and said members; and a tubular member surrounding said resilient fingers and having a downwardly facing shoulder engageable with the upper ends of said locking and supporting members to provide a thrust transmitting connection between said locking and supporting members, said tubular member and said body upon longitudinal relative movement of said body relative to said locking and supporting members; an upwardly facing stop shoulder on said tubular body; a locking and sealing assembly including a stop member and a locking nipple insertable into and movable lon itudinally downwardly in said tubular body, said stop member engaging said stop shoulder on said body to limit downward movement of said assembly in said body and to dispose said locking nipple in a position to be engaged by said locking members to prevent inward retracting movement of said locking members from projecting supporting position.

9. A well packer insertable in a well conductor and including: an elongate tubular body; a plurality of resilient depending fingers on said body and projecting to a position below the lower end of said body; a locking and supporting member on the lower end of each of said fingers and disposed below the lower end of said body, said locking and supporting members each having an outwardly projecting boss thereon biased to projecting supporting position by the resilient finger on which it is carried, and when in such position adapted to supportingly engage a well conductor to limit movement of said body in said conductor; said fingers providing a lost motion connection between said body and said locking and supporting members permitting relative longitudinal movement between said body and said locking and supporting members; a collar surrounding said resilient fingers and loosely confined thereon between the upper ends of the locking and supporting members and the lower end of the tubular body and engaging the lower end of said body and the upper ends of said locking members when said locking and supporting members are moved longitudinally toward said body member to provide for translation of thrust between the body and the locking and supporting members when said locking and supporting members, said collar and said body are in engagement; an upwardly facing stop shoulder on said tubular body; and a locking and sealing assembly including a stop member and a locking nipple insertable into and movable longitudinally downwardly in said tubular body, said stop member engaging said stop shoulder on said body to limit downward movement of said assembly in said body and to dispose said locking nipple in position to be engaged by said locking and supporting members to prevent inward retracting movement of said locking and supporting members.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,392,244 Hooser Jan. 1, 1946 2,673,614 Miller Mar. 30, 1954 2,698,056 Marshall et a1 Dec. 28, 1954 

